Author: John Smith

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has set November for a National Assembly subcommittee review of the Digital Asset Framework Act, rejecting claims that work on the country’s second stage crypto legislation has been delayed. Summary South Korea’s FSC expects the Digital Asset Framework Act to reach a National Assembly bill review subcommittee in November. The regulator rejected claims of delays and said its draft and lawmakers’ proposals share the same direction on digital asset issuance and distribution. Stablecoin regulation remains central to the framework as lawmakers seek to complete South Korea’s second stage crypto legislation within 2026. According to Seo…

Upbit has placed Sophon (SOPH) under a trading warning and suspended deposits, while Binance has scheduled seven USDC spot pairs for removal on Sept. 25. Summary Upbit placed SOPH under trading caution and halted deposits across KRW, BTC and USDT markets. The SOPH review runs until mid-October, with delisting possible if Upbit’s concerns remain unresolved afterward. Binance will remove seven USDC spot pairs on September 25 after reviewing liquidity and volume. Underlying tokens will remain tradable on Binance through other supported pairs after USDC markets close. Binance previously removed margin support for four of the seven affected USDC pairs this…

Agora has secured preliminary conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Agora National Trust Bank, bringing the stablecoin company a step closer to operating its issuance, custody and transaction infrastructure under federal supervision. Summary Agora has received preliminary conditional OCC approval to establish a national trust bank that would handle stablecoin issuance, custody and digital asset transaction services. Final authorization remains subject to preopening requirements, including at least $10 million in Tier 1 capital and an OCC examination before operations can begin. Agora plans to bring stablecoins, wallets, banking services and software workflows…

U.S. federal prosecutors have been investigating whether Binance knowingly allowed trading that violated Iran sanctions, nearly three years after its $4.3 billion federal settlement, according to a Sept. 22 Bloomberg report. Summary U.S. prosecutors are examining whether Binance knowingly allowed trades that violated existing sanctions targeting Iran. Manhattan prosecutors lead the reported probe, while the Justice Department’s Criminal Division is participating too. $61 million in crypto is targeted in a civil forfeiture case tied to Iranian oil. Binance says it maintains zero tolerance for sanctions violations and fully cooperates with law enforcement. Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 and agreed to…

0G has launched its Ascend liquid staking product and introduced a five-step system that will let eligible users convert staked 0G tokens into credits for AI computing services. Summary Ascend users receive the liquid staking token a0G after depositing 0G. a0G will be the only supported asset for minting iAI at launch. Eligible staked iAI will generate credits for supported 0G AI services. Infinite AI is scheduled to launch on Sep. 29, subject to product terms. In a Sep. 21 press release shared with crypto.news, 0G said that Ascend will serve as the first access point for Compute Finance, or…

Immunefi CEO Mitchell Amador has said the Liquid Network attackers lost any claim to white-hat status by retaining 598.5 BTC after returning 3,400 BTC from the roughly 4,000 BTC exploit. Summary Roughly 598.5 BTC remains with the attackers after they returned 3,400 BTC. Amador said coordinated disclosure ends when a researcher sets rescue terms without prior approval. Protocols should establish rescue rules and bounty limits before an exploit occurs. Immunefi’s CEO defended the 10% bounty convention when teams approve it in advance. Immunefi founder and CEO Mitchell Amador told crypto.news that moving user assets without permission cannot be treated as…

SlowMist has warned that attackers may have adapted the Darksword exploit chain to compromise devices running iOS 26.5 and extract private keys from self-custody crypto wallets. Summary Darksword attacks can begin when an iPhone user opens a malicious link in Safari. SlowMist says attackers may have adapted the exploit chain to iOS 26.5. Google previously confirmed Darksword activity against iOS 18.4 through iOS 18.7. Three U.S. investors separately allege fake wallet apps caused $1.835 million in Bitcoin losses. SlowMist Chief Information Security Officer 23pds said attackers are using Darksword to bypass Apple’s security controls, gain extensive access to affected iPhones,…

The SEC has opened a five-year route for tokenized U.S. stock trading, but TD Cowen has found that domestic investors, institutions, and listed companies show little appetite for the products. Summary TD Cowen expects limited adoption among U.S. retail and institutional investors. Figure recorded 99.9% of examined trading through its conventional Nasdaq-listed shares. SEC relief requires stock tokens to preserve economic, dividend, voting, and liquidation rights. Nvidia perpetual futures generated 96% of related notional volume in a Binance snapshot. TD Cowen said U.S. investors already have efficient access to listed shares, leaving tokenized venues under pressure to offer benefits that…

Bitcoin has broken above $85,000 as renewed U.S. buying and forced short covering have put Nansen’s next targets at $87,000 and $90,000, even as large crypto traders remain net short. Summary Bitcoin has cleared $85,000, leaving $87,000 and $90,000 as Nansen’s next levels. Hyperliquid’s largest Bitcoin traders remain net short despite the price breakout. Positive Coinbase premium and firmer USDT pricing point to renewed spot demand. ETF flows, Treasury yields and Friday’s options expiry could determine whether the rally holds. Nansen Senior Research Analyst Nicolai Sondergaard told crypto.news that Bitcoin’s price has turned bullish faster than positioning among crypto-native traders,…

The Zcash Foundation has denied any connection to two third-party products, ZRC-20 and the CASH token, after a post published through its X account described them as additions to the Zcash network. Summary The Zcash Foundation says ZRC-20 and CASH have no official connection to the organization. ZRC-20’s draft specification relies on shielded memos and off-chain indexers. The proposed standard requires no Zcash protocol change or formal ZIP approval. U.S. investors must distinguish third-party tokens from products endorsed by a network’s developers. Zcash Foundation says it had no prior knowledge The Zcash Foundation said in a statement that it had…